When you’re ready to relax and get a massage, whether for a much-needed treat or for healing an injury, you may not have thought much about the impact of hot and cold treatment options. You’ve likely used temperature in therapy at home to help when something painful happens, like an ice pack for a headache or putting heat on your sore neck, but how can it be applied at the massage therapist's office?
Both hot and cold therapy can be healing and beneficial to your body and they each have their own unique powers. Take a look at the top benefits of hot and cold treatment massages and the difference they can make vs. a regular massage.
Using heat
There are some great benefits to getting a hot treatment massage. Heat acts as a sedative or relaxer, which is just what you want when you book your next massage. It’s why people often own heating pads that they can put on achy muscles after a long, busy day or take a hot shower after an intense workout. If you struggle with sore muscles, you’ll benefit well from a hot stone massage or hot towels used on an area before it’s worked on.
Not only will the heat relax you but it will act as a pain reliever. Heat therapy is an analgesic that counteracts irritation in a pain spot. It can also loosen up joints if you are struggling with your range of motion.
For women, hot stone massages can relieve menstrual symptoms since it draws swelling away from the uterus. Hot stone massages work by expanding your blood vessels which draws your blood throughout the body and rids it of waste. You’ll enjoy the benefits of a conventional massage in a less stressful method.
Finally, heat works well for those in chronic pain or with stiffness because it’s a stimulant. The body may feel that the heat or the cold therapy used in a short application is like a threat that will cause it to react by increasing circulation to that area of the body. The improved circulation then reduces pain and relieves aching muscles.
Cold therapy benefits
On the other hand, is cold therapy and comes with a set of benefits all of its own. While heat therapy is associated with relaxation, cold therapy is associated with healing differently. It is going to help with pain relief and numbing of an area which makes it both an anesthetic and analgesic. It will help with those pesky headaches and migraines by offering relief through facial massage. It can also work with trigger points where you can allow fresh blood into the problematic area.
It can also work as a stimulant like heat therapy can because in short applications it can stimulate the body out of homeostasis temporarily. This is sure to help your inflammation and swelling of an injury. Some massage therapists may offer to alternate hot and cold therapy, in which ice is used for a couple of minutes followed by heat for up to 5 minutes. This is a great way to bring you back to homeostasis.
Cold stone therapy is an option to get this type of treatment. Marble works well to draw heat out of the body and it’s a great tool for working on your muscular injuries or for reinvigorating your body. Also called cryotherapy, using cold temperatures for therapy will cause your blood vessels to constrict, the muscles to contract, and your pain signals to be reduced.
Hot and cold therapy offers much more than your traditional massage and can be very beneficial if you are suffering from a particular ailment that needs a little more attention. These are the top benefits of hot and cold treatment massages.